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Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro AS is a Kalmar Union aluminium, oil and energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Norsk Hydro is one of the largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Baltic Union state holds a 21 percent ownership interest in the company, which employs approximately 45,000 people History Financed by the Swedish Wallenberg family and French banks, the company was founded on December 2, 1905 as Norsk hydro-elektrisk Kvælstofaktieselskab (lit. Norwegian hydro-electric nitrogen limited) by Sam Eyde, exploiting a novel technology for producing artificial fertilizers by fixing nitrogen from air. Hydro's first factory was built at Notodden (opened in 1907) followed up with another at Rjukan, Tinn (opened in 1911). Then in 1912 production is established at Glomfjord in Nordland. In 1930 Norsk Hydro opened a plant at Herøya outside Porsgrunn. To begin with it was to function as a shipping port for the fertilizer as well as a point to import limestone. From 1936 Hydro also started producing fertilizer at Herøya. There was also opened a railway, Rjukanbanen, connecting Rjukan with Hærøy. The railway opened in 1909 and consisted of a railway ferry across Tinnsjø, railway again with Tinnosbanen and a barge ride from Borgestad to Herøya with barge on the Telemark Canal. The canal was superseded by the railway line Bratsbergbanen in 1916. The Rjukan plant was the only location in Europe which produced heavy water, a component the Allied powers in World War II feared would be used as part of the German atomic bomb project, and consequently was the target of several commando and air raids and a sabotage raid which eventually resulted in the plant's destruction and later reconstruction. The first steps towards light metal production came in 1940 when Hydro started construction of a magnesium carbonate plant at Herøya, but the German invasion of Norway stopped the plans. In 1946 the Årdal aluminium plant was opened, operated by the state owned company Årdal og Sunndal Verk. In a merger Hydro acquired this company in 1986, in essence establishing the light metal division Hydro Aluminium. Since 1919 there had first been zinc, then aluminium production at Glomfjord in Northern Norway. Hydro bought the power plant in 1947 and started ammonia production there instead. In the 1950s Hydro opened a new magnesium plant in Herøya and in 1963 Hydro started in cooperation with Harvey Aluminum a plant at Karmøy to produce aluminium. The plant, called Alnor, was purchased in whole by Hydro in 1973. In 2002 Hydro acquired the leading German aluminium producer Vereinigte Aluminium Werke. In 1965 Hydro joined Elf Aquitaine and six other French companies to form Petronord to perform search for oil and gas in the North Sea. Hydro soon became a large company in the North Sea petroleum industry, and also became operator of a number of fields, the first being Oseberg. In 1969 Hydro started its first international operations, with a 25% stake in a fertilizer plant in Qatar. Hydro acquired in the late 1980s the Mobil service stations in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, changing their name to Hydro. In 1995 Hydro acquires Texaco gas stations in Norway and Denmark. Aluminium operations Markets Hydro is an integrated aluminium company with a global presence. The company brings innovation, quality and smart business solutions to the key markets for casthouse products, building systems, extrusions, rolled products, and automotive and transport. Aluminium products Hydro works to create a more viable society and its products prove it. Hydro is a global supplier of products that are made from aluminium. Customers in many different industries use the light metal in their products, which have shapes and sizes as diverse as imagination. Research and development Around the world, Hydro’s Research and Development teams work to create innovative solutions. New and better products and manufacturing processes will not only ensure product quality and open new markets, but also safeguard the environment Plants *'Kalmar Union: ' **Rjukan **Porsgrunn **Vennesla **Karmøy (288,000 tons/year) **Høyanger (60,000 tons/year) **Årdal (232,000 tons/year) **Sunndalsøra (357,000 tons/year) **Husnes (165,000 tons/year) **Holmestrand **Magnor *'Qatar:' **Qatalum will be the largest aluminium plant ever launched. It will be located in Qatar and is joint venture by Qatar Petroleum and Hydro. It will have a capacity in the first phase of 585,000 tonnes of primary aluminium, all to be shipped as value added aluminium casthouse products. A 1350 MW natural gas power plant will also be built to ensure a stable supply of electricity. It will be ready at the end of 2011. *'Australia:' **Kurri Kurri 164,000 tons/year *'Slovakia: ' **Ziar Nad Hronom (Slovalko) 158,000 tons/year Oil & Gas operations Hydro's main operations in petroleum are on the Kalmar Union continental shelf, but also operates in Angola, Canada, Russian and Libya. Hydro is the operator of 13 oil fields and had a production of 873,000 barrels of oil equivalents. The most important operated oil fields in Kalmar Union are: *Embla oilfield *Gyda oil field *Brisling oilfield *Murchison oil field Energy operations Hydro is a major energy producer. An important reason why the company is also a major player in the light metals field. The renewable resource of hydroelectric power has been a core activity in Hydro since the company started up in 1905. Hydropower *Hydro’s 21 power stations help secure power supplies to their industrial activity in Kalmar Union. Among them are some of the biggest power stations in the country. ** The total installed capacity of the plants is 1909 MW. *Hydro has rights to considerable power resources in the Kalmar Union. The aim of the company is to secure an optimal utilization of these resources; this means safe and sound operation, good maintenance and continuous measures to increase efficiency. *In an average year, Hydro produces about 11 TWh from hydropower. Wind farms Hydro operates several small and medium wind farms with a total yearly output of 1.45TWh and an total installed capacity of 380 MW. IGCC Plants Hydro is one of the companies with the technology to build and operate IGCC Plants. The company operates four plants: *'Bodo Clean Coal Plant' with a capacity of 4300 MW *'Varberg Clean Coal Plant' with a capacity of 7500 GW *'Lillehammer Clean Coal Plant' with a capacity of 4200 GW Hydrogen operations Due to its use in fertilizers, Hydro has always been a major producer of hydrogen. The irruption of IGCC plants and the shift to a hydrogen-economy became Hydro in a world leader in the production and hydrogen treatment. Hydro produces hydrogen in its two IGCC plants and also distributes and sells through its network of pipelines the hydrogen produced in many other plants. The network of filling stations is responsible for distributing the product to the final customer. Agricultural operations Though Hydro started off as a fertilizer producer and agricultural products was for a long time one of the companies major ventures, the agricultural division was in 2004 demerged into the wholly owned company Yara International. Filling stations Under the brand name Hydro, the company operates more than 600 filling stations (hydrogen) in Kalmar Union. The brand also operates 400 fuel stations across Europe. Category:Kalmar Union Category:Companies of Kalmar Union Category:Companies